» Obama now talks of the Change We Need' as US presidential race tightens

Obama now talks of the Change We Need' as US presidential race tightens

Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 14:59 [IST]

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Washington, Sept.17 : Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is fine-tuning the most basic element of his campaign to win the White House.

According to FOX News, Obama, whose slogan has long been "Change We Can Believe In," has since the end of the Democratic National Convention in Denver in late August, altered his rallying cry to read as the "Change We Need."

He advertises upcoming "Change We Need" rallies on his Web site. And he incorporates the modified phrase into his stump speeches.

It may seem like a small tweak, but in the carefully calibrated Obama campaign nothing is incidental.

"There's a real distinction between more of the same John McCain would bring to this country and the change we need," Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, when asked about the slogan shift.

"It's not that we're moving away from (the theme of change). We are incorporating the seriousness of the issues this country is facing with the commitment to change we have been talking about for 20 months."

The sudden focus on change-iness, as Stephen Colbert might put it, comes after John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin began to market themselves as the true reformers.

McCain declared "change is coming" in his GOP nomination acceptance speech, and the duo has since played up its maverick roots in television ads and on the campaign trail.

The poaching of Obama's campaign theme coincides with an uptick in the polls for McCain, who has been leading in the Gallup daily tracking poll since just after the close of his party's convention September 4.

The enthusiasm surrounding the GOP ticket has been attributed in large part to Palin's selection as his vice presidential nominee.